It is usual to erect a fence around a deck, or on a balcony. Fences are often erected around properties. In most cases it is desirable that the fence will be aesthetically pleasing and decorative, as well as effective in its purpose. interior rails are used on stairs and other locations.
Fences are usually made of a system of vertical and transverse, members. Usually the members are made of wood. Wooden fences while having a pleasing aesthetic appearance have a relatively short life and are easily damaged. They are difficult to repair when they become rotted and must be pulled down and replaced. in addition, wooden fences require frequent maintenance.
For this and many other reasons, it is common to erect fences of iron work, In the past these may have been cast iron, but wrought iron fences are also common. In these cases the iron fences must usually be designed and constructed in a factory to the exact dimensions required for the particular application. Once erected, the fences have a long useful life. However, iron weathers easily and must receive frequent maintenance including removal of rust, repainting with rust-proof paint and then painting with a decorative finish.
Usually iron fences of this type are erected by contractors. A contractor is required to measure the location and the purchaser will then select a design and a contractor then constructs the various fence components in a factory and brings them to the site to install.
This is a relatively expensive process and tends to greatly increase the cost of such iron fences.
Clearly, a form of kit of parts for constructing a fence or rail system at home- by a home handyman or even by the individual property owner would be of much lower cost and thus produce a wider market.
In addition, by selecting more suitable materials for building outdoor fences, it will be possible to have a fence with a virtually indefinite life without requiring any maintenance, and without deteriorating due to weathering.
Various fence kit systems have been proposed. For example in U.S. Pat. No. 1,376,150 dated 1921 there is proposed a fence or rail kit system having an upper rail and a lower rail each made apparently of two telescoping components. Vertical posts extend between the lower and upper rails and are held in place by inter-engagement with one of the telescoping parts of the upper and lower rails.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,935 dated 1987 there is disclosed another fence kit. In this case the horizontal rails are simply provided with holes and what appear to be screw openings. The vertical posts are slipped through the holes and are fastened in place by what appear to be set screws. The kit also provides various junction devices for holding the ends of the posts onto a building structure, and corner connectors for connecting corners.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,548 discloses another system of a fence kit. This system is in many respects quite similar to the system in the U.S. Pat. No. 1,376,150 in 1921. This system discloses a rail of hollow rectangular construction having a sliding telescoping component extending through it. The vertical posts are provided with notches. A portion of the telescoping sliding component slides into engages with the notches and holds the posts in the rails.
All of these systems would require some relatively difficult operations by an installer and would not be entirely suitable for use by a home handyman or individual property owner.
In addition, the use of multiple fastening components of this type introduces the possibility of errors in positioning of the interlocking parts such that they will not readily fit together and in addition there appears to be no secure shake free engagement. In each case the rail and post system would be liable to vibration and movement. Another difficulty of these systems with interlocking parts is that the interlocking components must interfit at certain precise intervals along their length. These intervals will be determined by the way in which the kit is manufactured in the factory. As a result, the purchaser has a limited choice of design available to him.
Clearly, it would be an advantage to the home owner or home handyman, if a fence kit could be obtained which could be cut to size to suit the particular location, whether it be a front yard, a deck, a balcony, or even for example a stair rail, and then erected by him in position. Preferably, such a fence system would be free of any exterior projecting fastenings, and would provide a rigid solid fence structure which would not loosen or fall apart over time. In addition, in this type of system, the vertical posts should preferably be connectable to the transverse members by some form of connections which do not require machining of parts in a factory.